In 2016, the Land Trust launched an ambitious $7.9 million campaign to purchase Rincon Bluffs Preserve (originally Carpinteria Bluffs III), a small but important portion of the larger Carpinteria Bluffs area that overlooks Rincon Point. Carpinteria Bluffs III is one of the last remaining undeveloped coastal properties between the western edges of Goleta and the Ventura County line. Aside from the sections already protected, the rest is virtually all developed.

Just over one year later, in partnership with the Citizens for the Carpinteria Bluffs, the City of Carpinteria, the County of Santa Barbara and more than 1,300 community members, the Land Trust successfully raised the entire $7.9 million needed to complete the purchase, initiate restoration, and ensure the long-term maintenance of the Carpinteria Bluffs III property.

With the successful purchase of the 21 acre Rincon Bluffs Preserve property, over 2/3 (73 acres total) of the entire Carpinteria Bluffs open space is protected from development in perpetuity for the public’s enjoyment. By the end of the year when all private and public/government grant funding is provided into escrow, the property will be conveyed to the City of Carpinteria for long-term stewardship.

As of July 2018, the Land Trust and the City of Carpinteria are working on the final details of the easement and as soon as it is complete, ownership of the property will be transferred to the city. The conservation easement will ensure trails and other infrastructure can be developed with out impacting the remarkable natural resources of the property. At the same time, Van Atta Associates are at work on models for a parking area and fencing, as well as preliminary landscape and trail design.